Help with IV regulating infusion flow rate by gravity drip

[MThomas92]

Hi everyone, I have a competency exam tomorrow that involves hanging an IV. I am confident in spiking, priming, and calculating the gtts/min. Unfortunately, I have an issue when it comes to counting the actual drops in the drip chamber. I have a very difficult time counting the drops and looking at the clock simultaneously. For example, if I had 42 gtts/min, how can I accurately count the drops without messing up. It isn't correct to adjust the roller clamp while counting, correct? Can anyone give me some tips regarding this? I'd greatly appreciate it! Thank you! -Mike

[203bravo, MSN, APRN]

When I'm setting IV rate -- I place my watch behind the drip chamber so that I can count the drops and see the second hand at the same time.. And when you have your gtts/min.. just break it down one more step to gtt/sec... 42 gtt/min would be 0.7 gtt/sec. since you can't have less than a whole drop there will be some estimation here.. try to figure out the nearest whole drops in seconds.. for example at 0.7 gtt/sec you would need 2.1 drops in 3 sec.. so it would be best to time out just at 2 drops every 3 seconds.

And yes any time you reset the roller you need to restart your counting at the next whole drop after you have completed the roller move.

Best of luck..